


and i never really had a doubt. i know you're my saving grace!

by angelica_barnes



Series: ABC [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Moving In Together, Multi, That's it, fluffy fluffy fluffy, just fluff, too happy for my own personal tastes quite honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 12:57:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15340359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelica_barnes/pseuds/angelica_barnes
Summary: C : childBucky and Steve fall in love, but from the POV of Maria, Steve and Peggy's daughter.(needless to say, fluff ensues and bucky and steve would be fantastic dads in my opinion.)





	and i never really had a doubt. i know you're my saving grace!

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from "Halo" by Beyonce (look up the Madilyn Bailey cover it's really good)

It’s been three years since Maria’s mom has brushed her hair. Has asked her about her day at school. Has helped her blow out her birthday candles.

She’s nine now. Her dad does his best to remember that.

He’s happier now. He reads her bedtime stories and goes out to places nobody will tell her about on Fridays, and Sam comes over to watch her. When her dad gets home on those nights, he looks tired, but happy. Light.

She meets the reason why about five months after his smiles start. His name is Bucky, and he’s handsome and kind with two different colored arms, and he squats down to shake her hand when Papa introduces her as “Maria, my daughter.”

“Hey, Сладкая моя,” Bucky says softly, and she cocks her head at the funny-sounding words. She’s never heard them before.

“What’s that mean?” She asks, and Bucky smiles. His eyes crinkle at the corners, she notices, and they twinkle. She thinks he must be magic; only her mother was magic like that, the kind of magic that made her father smile.

“It means ‘sweet darling’ in Russian,” Bucky answers her, and she giggles. As a way of greeting, she steps forward and wraps her tiny arms around his neck, and he’s stiff for a moment before returning the hug.

She supposes he’s not used to anyone touching him since one of his arms is metal, and she thinks that may be one of the reasons he loves her dad - Papa never flinches when Bucky touches him, hugging him from behind and kissing his neck.

Papa just smiles.

 

-

 

During storytime that night, Papa whispers, “Ria, darling?”  
Maria looks up from tracing the dragons on her blankets and says loudly, “Yes, Papa?”

He chuckles at her volume, so unbefitting of this time of day (it’s not even day anymore), and then asks, “Do you like Bucky?”

She tilts her head to the side. “Why? It doesn’t matter as long as you do.”

Papa laughs, but it comes out uneasy. “Thanks, sweetie. But I can’t date him unless you like him. He’s gotta get the Maria Carolina seal of approval.”

She shrugs. “Then yeah, I like him. He makes you happy.”

Papa blushes and smiles, biting his lip. His fingers curl around the mattress the slightest bit and he leans over to kiss her forehead.

“I love you, darling. G’night.”

She lies down and wraps herself in her blankets, yawning.

“G’night, Papa. Sweet dreams.”

 

-

 

Ever since Mommy died, they haven’t had Thanksgiving. It isn’t that Papa isn’t grateful or anything, or that Maria isn’t, it’s just that Mommy always did the cooking and Papa burns everything he touches so there’s really no point in trying to cook a gigantic meal. (If you’re wondering, Sam makes dinner some nights or they get takeout, but on Thanksgiving Sam’s with his mom and Maddy, his other half.)

But this year, Bucky scampers in all excited at six in the morning and so Maria comes shuffling into the kitchen with her stuffed bunny clutched in her arms and rubbing at her eyes. She sees Bucky laughing and opening cupboards and bustling around while Papa leans back against the counter and smiles, all morning scruff and only boxers and a bathrobe, and every time Bucky passes him he pauses for a peck on the lips.

Then he sees her and grins, stopping altogether to walk over and squat down in front of her, just like when they met.

“Good morning, детка,” he says, voice quiet and soft. She can’t take noise in the early hours, and she doesn’t know how he knows that but she just smiles toothily. “How’d you sleep?” (baby)

She shrugs. “Okay. Whatcha making?”

Bucky grins and kisses her nose, picks her up and sets her down on the counter next to Papa. Papa runs his hand through her hair and smiles down at her as she watches Bucky in fascination.

“I’m making you Thanksgiving dinner, детка. Your papa here tells me you haven’t had one in a long time.”

She drops her head on Papa’s shoulder and starts playing with her bunny’s ears mindlessly. “Yeah, not since Mommy died. Papa can’t cook.”

Bucky freezes and turns to look at Papa, a regretful apology in his eyes, but Maria just smiles. “It’s okay. We have plenty to be thankful for.”

Bucky relaxes then in relief, a grin breaking out on his face. He starts moving around again and asks, “Like what, тыква?” (pumpkin)

“You,” she answers simply, and Bucky stops and turns towards her again. He seems surprised, though she doesn’t know why; he should know that she and Papa love him, right?

“Oh,” Bucky finally whispers, and there seem to be tears in his eyes. He smiles and huffs out a laugh, and Papa smiles too, holding out a hand and drawing Bucky to his side, kissing his cheek.

Maria looks up at him. “You make us happy. We love you.”

Papa’s cheeks turn pink at that and he hides his face in Bucky’s chest. Bucky just smiles softly, eyes melting into pools of a raw emotion she can’t quite place; he reaches out a hand and brushes some of her hair behind her ear.

“I love you both too, детка,” he answers quietly, and ah, that’s what’s in his eyes. Papa lifts his head to meet Bucky’s eyes and the latter takes the chance to peck the blonde’s lips, “Yes, you too, baby doll.”

Maria feels full of something already, though the food’s not even ready to eat.

 

-

 

“You know,” Papa starts at storytime that night, “Bucky’s not a replacement for your mom. I’m always gonna love her, and I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to fill the holes she left or anything. I know no one can ever be Mommy.”

Maria just smiles softly. “But Bucky makes it better. And I have pictures. And I look just like her, you always said, so I can just look in the mirror too and it’s okay!”

Papa smiles down at her, melancholy and fondness both disguised by white teeth, and combs his fingers through her hair. “But you miss her.”

Maria shrugs and looks away, picking at a dragon’s yellow eye on her comforter. “So do you.”

It’s silent for a moment, and then Papa lets out a breath, “Do you mind that I’m dating another man?”

Maria’s nose crinkles up in offense and Papa laughs. “Why would I?” She asks, her tone suggesting the very idea is ludicrous.

Papa calms himself and lifts his shoulders just a bit with an inhale, then lets them drop with a sigh, “Because some people do.”

Maria is appalled. “Well, I’m telling the story tonight.”

Papa doesn’t question the abrupt change in conversation and puts down the book he’s holding, turning to stare at her attentively. She shifts beneath the covers, opens her mouth and begins.

“Once upon a time, there was a king named Steve. He fell in love with a beautiful princess named Peggy and married her. They had a baby girl whom they named Maria and raised her like parents should. Then one day, Peggy got very sick and Steve and Maria had to say goodbye to her.”

Papa’s eyes have turned sad, but he’s still watching her with a half smile. She worries he doesn’t like the story, but at her silence, he makes a gesture, “Go on.”

She does.

“They mourned for a long time. Everything was grey and black and Steve didn’t smile much.”

_ Like he isn’t smiling now, _ she thinks, but he seems enraptured and so she keeps going.

“But then they met a knight. His name was Bucky, and Steve fell in love with him. Maria loved him too. He was her best friend. So the knight saved the dashing young king and the little princess and they all lived happily ever after.”

There are tears in Papa’s eyes when she finishes, but he’s smiling again, and he draws her into a tight hug and kisses her scalp.

“Yes, Ria,” he whispers. “We will live happily ever after.”

They stay like that until she falls asleep, and she dreams of, or maybe remembers, him tucking her in and kissing her goodnight.

 

-

 

Maria’s gotten so used to having Bucky around that she forgets that nobody other than her, Papa  and Sam have met him yet. So she doesn’t really understand why everyone’s asking Papa so many questions and pointing to Bucky, who’s pressed against Papa’s side with a nervous look on his face like he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. (She doesn’t understand why. Bucky always knows what to do.)

Papa can’t get a word in, and so Maria shouts above the rest of them to shut up.

They all turn to stare. Nobody blinks, until suddenly Bucky does and he bends down in silent invitation. She accepts and steps forward, making grabbing motions with her hands, and he picks her up, settling her against his chest.

Papa lets out a breath of relief and buries his face in Bucky’s shoulder, who turns to kiss the top of the blonde’s head.

Maria smiles. “Bucky is Papa’s boyfriend. He’s been around for awhile.”

There’s still stunned silence, for a moment, and then Tony clears his throat and says, “Well, alright then,” and walks off. Bruce quickly follows his husband and Clint takes Maria from Bucky’s arms so Natasha can interrogate poor Bucky. (He looks terrified.)

On the couch, Merida’s curled in Peter’s arms. She waves at Maria as Clint settles her in his lap, and Maria wraps her arms around herself as she leans into him. There’s no bunny held against her and her grasp feels empty.

Bruce wanders in a few minutes later with the bunny in his hands. As soon as he catches sight of her in Clint’s arms, he comes over to them and hands Maria the bunny with a smile.

“Here, Lolina. Thought you might be looking for her.”

Maria smiles shyly at him and takes the bunny with hesitant hands. Bruce smiles back and drops a kiss to her forehead, and Clint grins down at her, twisting her hair in his fingers. Bruce leaves, returning to Tony’s side, and Maria squirms so Clint lets her go.

As she’s dragging her bunny across the room by the ear, she hears a faint ripping sound and looks behind her, only to see the ear in her hand and the rest of her bunny on the floor behind her.

Naturally, being nine years old, she does the reasonable thing that one does when their best friend breaks

She bursts into tears.

Immediately Papa’s by her side, picking her up in his arms and stroking her hair as she cries into his shoulder and he shushes her. Bucky comes over too, picking up the pieces of the bunny as he goes, and when he reaches them, Papa gives him a worried look, bouncing Maria up and down gently in an attempt to calm her down.

“I don’t know…” He whispers, and Bucky understands - Papa can’t sew. It was always Mommy that fixed up her toys. Bucky just smiles and pecks Papa’s lips, then kisses the back of Maria’s forehead.

“Hey, детка,” he says softly in her ear, and she turns her head just the tiniest bit so Bucky can see her tearstained face and she sniffs. His smile is kind, comforting. “I can fix her up for you, okay? She’ll be good as new in a few minutes. You wanna come up to the bedroom with me?”

Maria nods, reaching out for Bucky and the parts of her bunny. Papa grunts as he transfers her to his boyfriend’s arms and kisses her cheek.

“Thank you,” he breathes, and Bucky just grins at him, eyes twinkling. He turns and carries Maria to Papa’s bedroom, where he sets her down on the bed and starts rummaging through drawers.

He then sits down next to her and holds out some spools of thread. “What color, детка?”

She points to the red. That was the color of the lipstick Mommy wore. It’s Maria’s favorite.

Bucky smiles and threads the string through the needle hole, then holds out a hand for her bunny, “May I?”

She nods and hands the bunny to him. She watches with curiosity as he stitches the ear back on, carefully, as if he’s operating on a real person, and when he’s done, he lifts the bunny up to inspect his work. Seemingly satisfied, he nods and kisses the stuffie’s nose before turning and handing it to her with a smile.

“Here you are, детка. See? All better.”

She clutches the bunny close to her chest, as if he could break all over again if she lets go, and stares up at him with her wide brown eyes.

Her lip quivers. “I hurt him,” she whispers, and starts crying again.

Bucky immediately scoops her up in his arms, murmuring in her ear, “No, no, детка, Maria, you just loved him so much. Only the best, the most loved toys have accidents like that.”

She sniffs and stops crying, still hiccuping as her tiny fingers curl into a fist around his shirt. “Really?”

He nods and leans down to kiss her nose, the bunny’s too. “Really.”

 

-

 

That night, Maria cuddles her bunny close to her as Papa and Bucky read her a bedtime story. He’s leaving after this, he said, but now he’s asleep, curled into Papa’s side, so Maria doubts he’s actually going to go through with that.

He’s home, anyway, as far as she’s concerned. I mean, Papa’s gonna marry him, Maria can tell, because now he’s smiling down at Bucky, running his fingers through the latter’s hair.

Maria feels nice like this, spending time with her family.

“Papa?” She mumbles, and he turns to look down at her with that same sweet smile he was giving Bucky just seconds ago.

“Yes, darling?” He murmurs. She smiles sleepily at him.

“Do you love him? I love him.”

Papa’s eyes widen and his lips part slightly in surprise, but she waits patiently and after a moment he smiles.

“Yes, Ria, I do.”

She nuzzles into her pillow and closes her eyes. “He should stay here, Papa. This is home, and he’s family.”

She doesn’t see the tears in Papa’s eyes when she says it, but she manages to catch his response right before she drifts off.

“He should, my darlin’. He should.”

 

-

 

On her birthday, Maria wakes up to Bucky nuzzling her nose. She smiles and opens her eyes, reaching out to yank on his hair.

“Morning, детка,” he whispers. “Happy Birthday.”

She wraps her arms around his neck and lets him pick her up, carrying her into the kitchen, where breakfast waits on the table. They sit down, both pointedly ignoring the empty chair.

“Is Papa gonna make it?” Maria asks as Bucky’s braiding her hair, and she can hear him sigh. She knows he misses Papa too.

“I don’t think so, детка. But we’re gonna have fun, the two of us, okay?”

She nods, letting him take her hand and lead her out the door, but she’s disappointed. Papa was deployed two months ago, and though Bucky’s living with them now and she’s used to having only herself and one other around (whether it be Papa or Sam or Bruce or Natasha or Clint or Bucky or someone else), the house feels empty.

After school, Bucky takes her out for ice cream (he gets vanilla. She gets cookie dough. If Papa were here, he’d blush at the floor and say he wouldn’t want any and Bucky would just kiss him and order some strawberry) and then to the playground.

Bucky’s pushing her on the swings when she sees him.

“Papa!” She shouts, and jumps off the swing, scaring Bucky half to death. She dashes towards him and he lifts her up and spins her around, laughing, then kisses her nose.

“Oh, my darlin’, hi. Happy Birthday,” he whispers, face buried in her hair as he grins, and then there’s another pair of arms around them and Papa turns, his grin immediately being covered by Bucky’s own smile as they kiss, pulling away with a gasp and a breathless, “I missed you, Stevie.”

Papa’s eyes are bright as the sun when he answers, “I missed you too, Buck.”

 

-

 

For her birthday, that night, Papa presses into her palm a necklace, open to the picture of her mother inside. Mommy’s red smile is so familiar, and yet so distant, like a dream with half its details missing. Maria can’t quite picture her correctly, and it makes her sad, how much she’s forgotten in four years.

“You’re ten now,” Steve whispers to her silence. “Mommy always said you could wear necklaces when you were ten. This locket was hers. A wedding gift from me, with a picture of us inside.”

Maria smiles down at the picture and then up at her father. “Thank you,” she says softly, and Papa kisses her head with a strained smile, eyes glistening.

“Of course, darling,” he murmurs. “I miss her too, y’know? Even though we’ve got Bucky, I miss her just like you.”

Maria leans forward and wraps her arms around her father’s middle. They don’t quite reach all the way around but for once in her life she can touch the fingertips of one hand to the other’s and she considers that an accomplishment.

Papa swallows nervously as he returns the hug.

“Would it upset you if I said I loved Bucky? Like, I love Bucky like I loved your mama?”

Maria hides her face in his side and mumbles, “You love him like you love Bucky. And he’s an angel made to love you, so yeah. You can love him.”

Papa’s arms tighten around her and she closes her eyes.

“It’s okay. I love him too.”

Papa doesn’t say a word. Maria can feel herself dozing off.

“He feels like Mommy.”

 

-

 

“Careful, детка.”

Maria loses her footing on the jungle gym and slips. Immediately there are hands on her sides and Bucky’s voice in her ear.

“You okay, детка?” She nods and squirms until he takes her off the jungle gym and sets her down on the wood chips. She takes his hand and starts to pull him down the sidewalk in the direction of the ice cream shop.

“Where’d you learn Russian?” She asks, and Bucky smiles. It’s slightly sad, but fond, as if the memories have been tainted by someone’s death, mistake, disappearance but are still good times overall.

“I used to be in the army, like your dad. I spent a while over there - actually, Natasha was there with me. There were a few complications, but I ended up back home, safe and sound.”

“With us,” Maria says, and Bucky grins down at her.

“Yes, with you and Stevie. What would you like, детка?”

“Cookie dough, please,” she tells the employee, who smiles warmly at her and goes off to fulfill her order.

When she comes back, she turns to Bucky and whispers, “Your daughter is adorable.”

Bucky’s cheeks turn pink and he ducks his head, hiding his smile. “Um, she’s not -”

“I think I’m adorable too,” Maria interrupts with a toothy grin, and the employee giggles.

“Well, you’d be right there. Enjoy your ice cream, sweetheart.”

They settle in at a table in the corner and halfway through her ice cream (most of it smeared across her mouth rather than in it), she asks, “What do you call me? Y’know, детка?”

Bucky smiles at her and looks out the window. “Baby.”

Usually she’d go off at him about how she’s not a child, but she knows he means it fondly, and she kind of likes it.

“How do you say ‘daddy’?” She then says, bold and determined, and Bucky turns back to her with surprise in his eyes and answers, “папа.”

Maria grins. “Thank you, папа.”

Bucky swallows and his voice is strained when he whispers, “You’re welcome, детка.”

She smiles at him and he smiles back.

 

-

 

Maria still enjoys her bedtime stories, but they don’t happen as often anymore. She doesn’t need them, or even want for them much, really; they’re just a special treat that tastes wonderful when she’s lucky enough to get it.

But tonight, Papa comes in at eleven, sleep-ruffled and lips red. She can only assume that Bucky’s just drifted off, presumably in Papa’s arms before the blonde crept in here.

Maria’s not supposed to be up at this hour, but Papa’s not quiet when he’s nervous and so his fingers are shaking as they run through her hair and the dip in the mattress wakes her brain and opens her eyes.

Papa’s own are twinkling.

“I met your mother on a subway train,” he whispers, like he’s telling some mystical tale, and in a way, he is. Maria’s never heard this bit, the whole ‘falling’ part, because until Mommy died, it was just one of the simple facts in her life - Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter were in love. She’s never asked how it’d happened.

She sits up and wraps her arms around her bent knees, watching with wide eyes, leaning forward as she listens in.

“It was love at first sight,” Papa continues, the smile clear on his face and in his voice. “She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, and when she smiled at me, there were so many butterflies in my stomach, you wouldn’t believe it.”

He takes Maria’s hands in his own. Hers are no longer dwarfs compared to his, and she realizes then just how much older she’s become.

“And I loved her. I loved her so much, so suddenly, and I just knew I had to talk to her. I just, I  _ knew _ she was the one. The one I’d been searching for my whole life.”

And then Papa’s eyes, slightly glazed over in wonder, as if he was seeing her but not really  _ seeing _ her, shook themselves from their daze and bore straight into hers, wide and wondering, full of fond.

“And when we had you, it felt like life was everything it ever could be.”

Papa kisses her forehead, delicately as if he’s afraid she might disappear beneath his smile. She won’t, she wants to promise him she won’t. (At least not until college.)

“When she died,” his voice is sad now, “I thought life might be over. I mean, I still had you, and suddenly what was once half of my world became my whole universe, and I loved you, I love you, I do, but I missed those butterflies.”

He then uncurls his fingers from Maria’s and opens his hands completely to reveal, sitting in his palm so plainly as if it’s always belonged there, and she knows it’ll look the same on Bucky’s finger, a ring.

“And now they’ve come back to me.”

Papa watches her nervously, his eyes searching her face as she stares at the ring. Then, after a few moments of contemplation, she nods confidently.

“He’ll say yes.”

Papa still seems unsure, taking Maria’s hand in his and silently asking for her to look him in the eye. She does.

“But do you want him to?”

A wide smile takes over her face.

“Yes.”

 

-

 

After school, Bucky’s waiting for her on a park bench. He’s staring at the clouds, in full Alice fashion, with that soft little smile on his face he only ever gets when he’s really, truly happy. He doesn’t look down even when Maria climbs up onto the bench beside him and tucks herself under his arm, taking his metal hand in hers and playing with it and the ring on its fourth finger.

“Would you be happy,” Bucky’s voice is quiet and full of wonder, “if I married your Papa?”

Maria hums, pressing a kiss to the ring. “If you would.”

Bucky looks down at her then, eyes twinkling like the day she met him and smile loose and happy, like nothing could knock it out of place.

“More than anything, детка.”

She grins. “Then yes, папа. Yes, I would be very happy.”

And she is.

 

-

 

Bucky’s asleep in their bed when Steve gets home, Maria curled in his arms. There’s an abandoned book bent open a few inches from Bucky’s unclenched fingers. Steve smiles at the sight of his family wrapped around each other and undresses, quickly putting on some pajama pants and slipping into bed beside them.

He gently unclasps the locket from around his daughter’s neck and opens it, pressing a kiss to Peggy’s beautiful face and smiling softly.

“I did it, Pegs,” he whispers. “I found the right person for her. For me.”

He sets the locket down on the table and throws the book gently on the floor, then turns the lamp off with a click. When he turns back to wrap around his daughter and husband, he’s met with Bucky’s sleepy smile and twinkling eyes half-closed.

“Love you, Stevie.”

Steve smiles and kisses Maria’s head, twining his fingers through Bucky’s.

“Love you too, Buck. Forever and always.”

 

-

 

It’s been five years since Maria’s mom has brushed her hair. (Bucky does that now. Braids it too. Neither Papa nor Mommy ever knew how to braid.)

Has asked her about her day at school. (Bucky does. Every day. And he listens to every little detail, even the ones about how her imaginary friends took a bath in a bucket of glue, and he asks her all sorts of questions, from “Who’s Lisa?” to “And does Miss Sunny like the rain?” because he’s perfect like that.)

Has helped her blow out her birthday candles. (Bucky doesn’t help her either. She can do it by herself now, with those big-girl lungs of hers. Bucky just films it all and kisses her forehead and Papa’s lips.)

She’s eleven now. Her dad remembers that because of Bucky’s measuring of her height once a month, penciling in the lines and numbers on the left side of the kitchen doorway.

Papa’s happy now.

 

 

 


End file.
